


King

by somethinginbetween



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: M/M, Post-Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-28
Updated: 2020-09-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:21:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 20,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26161063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/somethinginbetween/pseuds/somethinginbetween
Summary: The least the apocalypse could have done is wipe his ex off the face of the earth, Merlin thought.
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 50
Kudos: 110





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Ya'll I don't know what it is about this pairing, but it will not let me go. At the moment I'm not quite sure where this is going. Let me know if you have any ideas.

It was only a matter of time until humans finally destroyed the world they lived in. The internet had connected the world, but no one had realized that maybe it was better to stay apart. Through the internet, people could find each other. And they didn’t always have good intentions. A worldwide computer virus was released, targeting western countries and rendering all technologies defunct. NATO incorrectly blamed the Russians, and at that point the nuclear war phase destroyed many of the major cities. Soon after, the environmental issues began to hit. Freak storms and wildfires began to tear up the world, each one decimating buildings and destroying the homes that the nukes hadn't reached. What was left was an icy winter, leaving millions of people to die from exposure.  
And now here they all were, no longer connected. In the dark ages again, but worse off, Arthur thought, because the earth was no longer bountiful. There was no possible way to hunt and gather anymore because most everything had been bombed or scorched off the face of the earth  
And in a reality like this, food becomes power.  
His father had always taught him the importance of not just surviving, but growing in any circumstance, no matter what the conditions may be.  
Which Arthur liked to think was what got him here. His foresight, his hard work. When he saw the way the world was headed, he began to build up a disaster shelter. An underground tunnel, food stores, and even began to experiment with growing food in a lab. It helped that he was the CFO of the world’s largest agribusiness.  
So that was how Camelot was born.  
A small pocket of human civilization underneath what used to be rural England. He didn’t know if they were the last. He hoped not. But they hadn’t heard of any other safe places and everyday fewer and fewer people trickled in.  
Arthur planned to move the food operation completely underground, but there were not enough UV lights and too many mouths to feed. They still had crops up above, located low in the earth, with guards ready with tarps in case of torrential rain or hail.  
And so he’d become the leader of Camelot. He didn’t really know what to call himself. Gwaine sometimes called him a King, but it was always said with a smirk and a jeer. But he did have a lot of power. He fed people, distributed jobs, kept their little civilization afloat. Which is how he got here, sitting in the hall with his ass growing numb as different problems were paraded in front of him needing a solution.  
He began to realize he was going to need some sort of democratic process to be instituted. They’d started off with a little under a hundred people so it was fine to make everything informal. Most situations were mild and solved easily. But now their numbers had more than tripled and their problems as well and he couldn’t be the one making all these decisions. It verged dangerously close to tyranny. Some of the problems that came before him needed to be investigated personally and he wasn’t sure he had the time. He scoffed, thinking about how even in the apocalypse, people still could not escape jury duty. And so problems came before him, a young mother said her husband had hit her, a guard claimed someone had stolen his favorite book, a little boy tried to escape into the sunlight and wouldn’t listen to his father.  
He sent Gwen with the mother to look into the situation, sent out a flier for the book, and told the little boy about the dangers up above.  
“Next.” He said.  
Two guards dragged in a man.  
And when Arthur looked down to meet his eyes, shock flooded his body.  
The two guards were holding Merlin  
Finding anyone from your past life was a miracle in and of itself. Most everyone was dead. But even before the disasters had hit, Arthur thought he’d never see Merlin ever again. He’d called him a coward while storming out of the apartment.  
It took everything for him to control his face, “What’s he in for?”  
He looked thin. Not starving, but still thin. He was dressed in combat gear with dirt smeared on his face. He’d must have fought with the guards because blood was dripping into his eye from a cut on his forehead.  
“Stealing, sir.”  
“From the crops?”  
“Was filling his backpack full.”  
Those impossibly blue eyes stared back at him. He didn’t reach out, didn’t say anything. Arthur couldn’t even read his face.  
He motioned over to Freya and whispered, “Take him to one to the apartment rooms and ensure he has everything he wants and needs. Post a guard on his door so he does not leave and to show him to dinner.” She nodded.  
“Thank you two for your excellent work. Follow Freya and she will show you the way.  
Merlin’s eyes lingered on him as the guards half-dragged, half walked him away.  
Arthur drummed his fingers on the chair. He couldn’t wait for dinner.


	2. Chapter 2

Merlin was fuming. His ex. His ex! Was here. His ex was a fucking king here. Unbelievable. He should have known. Until the bitter end it would be Arthur and the cockroaches. And somehow Arthur would find a way to make money off the cockroaches. They followed the lady down a series of tunnels, lit by halogen lamps. People passed them, looking at him suspiciously. They had that haunted look in their eyes that so many seemed to have. Some were missing limbs, others walked on crutches. But they looked okay. Not starving, not crying. There were even a few children.  
One tunnel was a hallway of doors. The woman opened one using an impressively thick key ring and the guards tossed him in. A bit roughly, Merlin thought. Probably because he bit one of them when they started to drag him away.  
“Stay by the door please.” The woman ordered them, before bustling around the room, “My name’s Freya. I’m in charge of housekeeping.”  
Merlin got to his feet, and looked around. It was a sparse room. Concrete from every angle. A bed, a crude nightstand with a halogen lamp. A plastic bucket and some boxes in the corner. It looked like heaven.  
“It’s not much, I know.”  
“No. No this is lovely.”  
“You’ll want a bath before dinner.”  
“A bath?” He hadn’t had anything resembling a bath in a long time.  
She looked at him pityingly, “Arthur built this place on an underground spring. We have to test it everyday to ensure it’s not contaminated, but it’s been safe so far. We’ve been lucky. All the water you could want.  
Merlin’s chapped lips cried out, “I’d love a bath. And any water.”  
“Great. Stay here.”  
Merlin began to reorganize his backpack. It wasn’t much. A knife. Water purification tables but only a few more swallows of water. Some excess grain from Arthur’s fields. A map, some extra underwear.  
Surviving out there hadn’t been easy. When all the electrical devices had gone kaput, there was mass hysteria. People had flooded grocery stores and widespread looting had begun. People had turned to the government, crying their anger, demanding action.  
He’d barely made it into the underground bomb shelter. The man had tried to close the door on his leg but Merlin had bit his lip, swallowed the pain, and shoved his way inside. And there he stayed with a couple dozen other scared people, huddled in the darkness because they only dared to light the flashlight for an hour at a time.  
He didn’t know how long he stayed. Weeks? Months? Time lost all meaning down there. They’d tried to keep it alive with stories, and good words, but after a while it all just fell flat.  
It was in that bunker that he realized he had to leave. Life there simply wasn’t sustainable. He would die of thirst, safe from the bomb. There were children in there, and he would not take food or water out of their mouths to keep himself safe. Three others had followed him and what greeted them were winter and ashes. There’d been a town there before. A rural town, barely big enough to make it on a map, but a town still the same. They picked their way through the freezing rubble silently, afraid to speak in case it distrubed the ghosts. Why was he alive? Merlin asked himself. When all these people were dead, why him?  
Freya returned with a bucket of water, “I didn’t have time to warm it up, but it should do.”  
She gave him a bar of soap and Merlin stared at it in wonder.  
“I know. It’s all shocking to newbies. But Arthur has us well stocked.”  
“Do you guys get a lot of new people?”  
“We used too. Not anymore though. You’re the first in a week. You can take over everything from here I trust?”  
“Yes. This is…” He didn’t have the words.  
But she seemed to understand, “I know. Welcome to Camelot. Dinner is in an hour.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ya'll every time anyone comments I get so freaking happy.


	3. Chapter 3

The guards remained at his door until Freya came. He’d tried to leave to explore but they’d stopped him, which he found concerning. They carried handguns. She brought with her a change of clothes that Merlin accepted gratefully. He’d donned his old gear but it smelled like body odor and rotten eggs.  
He’d followed her through the passages, so numerous and similar he almost lost himself. Freya kept up a friendly monologue, explaining the different areas they passed.  
“To the left is medical. That’s where Gaius works, with Leon. Leon was only in medical school when it all went down, but if you call him a doctor he’ll like you that much better. And now we’re passing sanitation, Mithian's area...”  
And all the while, the guards followed them.  
They arrived in an open room, with a circular table. An assortment of different people were sitting around it. Freya sat down quickly, leaving the only open seat next to Arthur. How convenient. Merlin grit his teeth and sat down. Arthur was talking to an African American lady on his right, and did not break conversation.  
As if on cue, people brought forth different dishes. Merlin sat stunned as chicken, mashed potatoes, lentil stew, bread, and even cranberry sauce was brought forward.  
Without even thinking, Merlin scooped a healthy portion of potatoes onto his plate and began scarfing it down. He hadn’t had a proper meal since the virus hit. Only tidbits, and things he could grab. When they burned one of his friends, he’d caught a whiff of the meat and his stomach had rumbled.  
It wasn’t until he felt the stare of the person next to him that he realized that no one else was eating.  
Merlin’s cheeks flamed, and he set down his fork.  
“And now, we say grace.” An elderly man said. Everyone joined their hands. Merlin wiped his hand on his shirt and joined the circle.  
Arthur’s hand felt soft in his. Moisturized, but not sweaty at all. Even though he’d taken a bath, Merlin worried he was still dirty. He’d done the best he could, but nothing was a match for running water. He hadn't held anyone's hand in so long.  
He missed most of the prayer.  
Finally, everyone began spooning food onto their plate. Merlin joined them, trying to remember his manners. But the food was truly marvelous, and while everyone else began talking, he worked on his plate.  
“You should be careful.” Arthur mentioned to him quietly, “If you’re malnourished, eating too much may confuse your body.”  
“I must say, you’re living quite well. Even after the apocalypse.”  
“Well, you know me. A workaholic.”  
Merlin took a sip of water to hide his expression. He’d screamed that at Arthur at their last meeting. It had been one of things that annoyed Merlin to no end. Arthur’s inability to just relax and stop working. And the worse their relationship got, the more Arthur would hide in his work.  
“So Merlin, where did you come from?” The hispanic man next to him was talking to him.  
“Originally the city. But when things started to go South I went more rural. How about you?”  
“Originally from Spain. Up here for vacation before shit hit the fan.”  
“Yikes. That must have been rough.”  
“Nah. It wasn’t too bad.”  
Arthur rolled his eyes, “Lance is always so positive.”  
“I can see that. The apocalypse happened and it wasn’t that bad from his perspective. I wonder what he’d say if the world blew up.”  
The African American woman snorted, “Probably that it could have been worse. I’m Gwen by the way." She said over Arthur's shoulder. "I’m in charge the plants.”  
"Nice to meet you."  
"You should get that cut looked after. Gaius and Dr. Leon will fix you right up."  
“He’s not a doctor.”  
“Jesus Gwaine. Everytime.”  
“Well you’re not!”  
Even with Arthur’s presence next to him, Merlin began to enjoy himself. There was good food, good talk, and he finally felt like he wasn’t going to die if he relaxed for a second.  
“We’re going to have to find you a job Merlin.” Gwen said, “You could work with Gaius and Leon, be a guard with Lance, work with Percy in the kitchens. There’s a place for everyone. What did you do before?”  
“Oh. Well, I was a music teacher.”  
Gwen bit her lip, “Mmmm…”  
“Merlin is a man of many talents” Arthur said, “He cooks, fixes things-”  
“You should join mechanical.” A man with brown shaggy hair and stubble interrupted, “We could use an extra hand.”  
“Do not send him to Gwaine.” Lance said, “He’ll quit after five minutes.”  
It was easy conversation. They all seemed to be such good people, especially after having experienced the worst of humanity. But if there was anything Arthur knew how to do, it was surround himself with people that were good for him.  
Finally, people began rising from the table.  
Arthur turned to him, “Can I walk you back?”  
“I’d like that.”  
People were smiling at Arthur in the corridor. Nodding a greeting or waving. Arthur returned each. They were silent for a few minutes as his brain searched frantically for something to say.  
“It’s a large operation you’ve got here.”  
“Growing bigger everyday. Elena is in charge of expansion.”  
“Look at you. You have everything figured out. The world blew up and Arthur Pendragon still lands on his feet.”  
“And you as well. You survived. The collapse of technology, the nuclear bombs falling like rain, and that cold, cold winter.”  
“Yea, well. It wasn’t easy.”  
“You’ll have to tell me how you survived.”  
“It’s a long story.”  
“Mine too.”  
They arrived at his door. He could tell Arthur was waiting for an invitation inside, “Well. You’ll have to tell me in the morning.”  
“And your story as well.”  
“Of course.”  
Arthur turned away but came back, “I know we ended on bad terms, but if you’re still interested I..ah..”  
Merlin could do nothing but kiss him.  
He’d missed this. Kissing Arthur. He was dopamine and serotonin. Soft lips and cranberries.  
He pulled back. Arthur looked beautiful in that moment, “I’ll see you tomorrow?” He asked.  
Merlin gave a small, sad smile and walked into his room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments really do make my day.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry all. This was originally part of ch 3 but I had to make some edits.

Merlin had kissed him. Him. It had been so long. After he’d left, Arthur never stopped thinking about him. He was Arthur’s first boyfriend. First love. Even when the bombs came, Arthur’s thought had gone to Merlin. And now he was here. Alive, in the flesh. With him.  
Arthur fell asleep with a bubble of hope inside of him.  
“Sir. Sir!” His PA was knocking on his door.  
It took a moment for him to wake, “Yes?”  
“Two of the guards are here. They’ve captured someone.”  
Arthur lit a lantern, “Send them in.”  
“Sir, we found him. Trying to escape.”  
In the dim light, it took a moment for his eyes to adjust. The men were holding Merlin.  
The bubble dissipated, “Thank you for your fine work gentlemen. I’ll take care of this.”  
“We’ll leave him here?”  
“Yes. Please wait outside the door.”  
Merlin stood there, head bowed. Arthur was at a loss for words. He waited for Merlin to speak but he just stood there, silent. Finally Arthur gave in,  
“What the fuck?”  
Merlin grit his teeth and looked away, “You keep everything well guarded.”  
“Well in case any of my exes happen to try and leave in the middle of the night, I want to be informed.”  
There was another silence.  
“Was it because of me?” Arthur’s voice sounded too vulnerable for his own liking.  
“You? No. I’m going to find my parents again. To see if they’re still alive.”  
“There’s no way. The casualty count is too high.”  
“You’re still alive.”  
“I’m a Pendragon.”  
“Funny, your father and sister were one too. Don’t see them.”  
“Which is why you shouldn’t go after your parents. It takes an insane amount of luck to survive any of that.”  
“Luck or grit. And my parents have both.”  
Arthur fell silent, fuming in anger. It was like arguing with a brick wall. He began to remember why they broke up. Merlin sighed and sat down on his bed, “While I was traveling, we ran into a government agent. She knew all the places the bombs had hit. You know my parents lived in the countryside. It was too rural to be bothered with. They missed all around that area.”  
Arthur was still silent.  
“It’s only eighty miles away. And I’ve survived this long.”  
In Arthur’s head, it boiled down to one question, “So it wasn’t because of me?”  
“Not everything is about you.”  
Arthur gave him a look.  
“No. I’d stay if I could. Even if I did still hate you, I’d stay. It’s safe here, and your lieutenants seem nice. Unfortunately after all this time, I still love you.”  
He still loves me. Arthur’s inner voice whispered. He loves me. Present tense. And just like that, he’d decided.  
“Guards.”  
They appeared.  
“Arthur?” Merlin asked in question.  
“Seize him.” They took him by the arms.  
“Arthur, what are you doing?”  
He went up and wrestled the backpack off his back. Merlin struggled, “Wait-”  
The pack was heavy. No doubt he’d made a stop at the kitchens.  
“Take him back to his chambers and keep him there.”  
Merlin tried to jerk away from them. But the guards, undeterred, continued to drag him out of the room.  
“What the fuck are you doing?”  
The guards hauled him out of sight and through the corridors, ignoring his struggles.  
People were peeking out of their doors, wanting to know what the commotion was all about.  
They flung him backward into his room. He landed on his side and pain bloomed in his ribs. He tried to get up but they slammed the door in his face. He was left in the dark  
“What the fuck!” He yelled, anger flooding his system. This was just like Arthur. If the world didn’t conform to him, he’d make it.  
He tried the door. Shut tight. He kicked it but only succeed in hurting his toe. Eventually, after exhausting his options, he went to bed.  
But lying there, his resolve hardened. His mother hadn’t given up on him when he was suicidal in high school. His father had paid for his music degree and only complained once. He would find them. If they were dead, then he would bury them. But he would never forgive himself if he never bothered to look for them. He would not stay here in luxury and leave them forgotten. On the road, he’d met men and women who had left their families behind. The holes in their soul, their need for survival. Arthur was a fair ruler. He'd see reason. Merlin would make him.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to go back and edit a few minor things but it shouldn't be too changed. This chapter is a long one, but a goody, I hope.

Breakfast was held with the commoners apparently. There was a larger room, almost a hall, with wooden picnic tables lined throughout. People lined up and received their plates of food before walking to their seats. It looked like a cafeteria. The people looked at Merlin suspiciously. He didn’t blame them. He stuck out like a sore thumb with the guards at his flank.   
And even here there was a cool kids table, where Merlin was motioned toward after getting his plate. The guards had been interchanged in the night, and apparently knew more about his place than himself, because they sat him down right in front of Arthur.  
“Good morning Merlin.”  
He responded with a glare which Arthur promptly ignored.  
“How’d you sleep?”  
“I cannot leave.”  
“You’re welcome anywhere in Camelot you may choose to go.”  
“But not outside.”  
Arthur shrugged and ate another spoonful of oatmeal.  
“Am I a prisoner here?”  
“A treasured guest.”  
“A prisoner.”  
“Asshole.”  
“Careful. I could have your tongue out for that.”  
“Fucking do it then.”  
Gwen joined them at the table, ending their conversation, “So Merlin, have you figured out where you’re gonna go?”  
“I was thinking about working with Lance. With the guards.”  
Arthur snorted, “Fat chance.”  
“Fine. Then, umm….” He remembered the ruggedly handsome man from last night, “Maybe Gwaine?”  
Arthur frowned, and Merlin felt a spark of satisfaction.  
“Mechanics? You’d do great.”  
“Yea, if you can handle Gwaine’s inability to stay silent.” Leon said, setting down his plate.

His guards melted away once he was released into Gwaine’s care.  
“I don’t know why they call it mechanics. The only car we have down here doesn’t even work. EMP got it. It blew in from who knows where.”  
It was a squarish room, more brightly lit than a lot of the other places. About five other people worked under Gwaine, and after a quick greeting they settled down to do their own thing.  
“We have some power tools and even a generator, but that’s reserved for Gwen’s UV lights. Too bad it didn’t occur to our king to bring down another. At the end of the day mostly we keep inventory. All the batteries are labeled and if someone borrows one we mark it down. If they don’t return it for recharging, we shakem down.”  
Merlin spied the woman Morgause sketching out what looked like the beginnings of a windmill.  
“We work a lot with Elaine. She’s expanding some of the apartments. We help install the doors and such. So, yea. That’s about it. You can work with me today. We’re concreting the walls.”  
They walked to their station. Merlin took care to memorize every hallway and Gwaine talked the entire way. Despite all of the lieutenant's assurances that Merlin would find Gwaine annoying, he was enjoying the man’s chatter. Apparently he used to be a car mechanic with ADHD. And now he was a mechanic with untreated ADHD.  
He began mixing the concrete, “That was something I had to get used to. I withdrew heavily from my adderall. Hungry all the time, moody, couldn’t focus.”  
“Yikes. How’d you deal?”  
“Poorly. It’s worn off now though. Now I’m just back to square one.” Gwaine shrugged, “The new normal.”  
“Indeed.”  
Gwaine waited a beat before casually mentioning, “You know. Arthur ordered me not to let you out of my sight.”  
Merlin laughed, “Of course he did.”  
“What is it with you two, if you don’t mind me asking. First the dinner, then you got to choose your placement, and now I’m not allowed to leave you alone.”  
“What do you mean dinner?”  
“The feast? For dinner?” Gwaine was looking at him expectantly, “Oh. Well I guess you wouldn’t know. But that’s not normal. We normally just eat what everyone else is eating. Perhaps occasionally we’ll have something extra special. But nothing like that.”  
“Oh.” Merlin had thought it was quite a bit of food, “And nobody else gets to choose their placement?”  
“Certainly not. Arthur assigns them. He asks them their background and slots them where he needs them most. Most people end up in sanitation. Especially music teachers.”  
Merlin flushed at that, “I’m not just a music teacher.”  
“I’m not looking down on that, mate. But I’m just saying, for survival skills you can’t exactly play the piano to chase a nuke away. If you were just anyone, you’d be sent to sanitation. Maybe the kitchen. Not that I don’t mind having you around, but mechanics is a pretty small area. We don’t really get new people.”  
“Oh. I didn’t know that.”  
“His kingship said that he knew you from before, but you guys didn’t even talk that much last night.”  
”Arthur and I are a long story.”  
“All we have nowadays is time.”  
Merlin sighed, “True.” He smoothed over some concrete, “We used to date.”  
“Pendragon’s a pansy?” Gwaine laughed, “Didn’t see that one coming.”  
Merlin glared at him, “It shouldn’t matter.”  
“No! I didn’t mean it as an insult. I’m pansexual myself. I’m just… surprised is all.”  
“Oh. Well, yea. We used to date. Almost five years.”  
“Damn. Long time.”  
“We met in college. I hated him at first.”  
“Ha. The first time I met him I thought he was a prick too.”  
“Yes, but back then he really was a prick. I still stand my belief that if you’re wearing a business suit in college, you’re going to hell someday.”  
“Pendragon wore suits in college? I should have seen that shit coming. That makes so much sense.” Gwaine laughed, “Bet he was in a frat too.”  
“Alpha Kappa Phi.”  
Gwaine cracked up  
“But toward the beginning of senior year, we got chosen to work on the senior gift together. I wanted to give them a garden, he wanted to install a wall with engravings of the major donors.”  
“Both shit ideas, honestly. What did you end up doing?”  
“We gave bonuses to the cafeteria workers and janitors. We raised more than any other class in the history of Cambridge, a stat still standing to this day. And probably forever now. By the end of the year we were half mad in love.”  
“So what changed?”  
Merlin shrugged, “We started working against each other instead of with each other. We’re both pretty stubborn. And once we stopped compromising, well. It was all over.” Merlin didn’t want to share the details. It was too private. And Gwaine struck him as a person that was not great at keeping secrets.  
He ignored Arthur for lunch. His anger from last night had been dulled by the privileges Arthur had given him. He was too confused to stir up trouble. He sat away from Arthur, toward the end of the table, ate his lentil soup and got to know Leon better. He’d been friends with Arthur when the world turned upside down.   
And right after lunch, they all got back to it. It was simple work. Boring, but rewarding. By the end of the day, Merlin was bone tired.  
“We did good work today.” Gwaine said, cleaning the tools. “Freya should be able to get some beds in there soon and some of the newer couples can start having their own place.”  
When they arrived at dinner, his shadows had returned and with them Merlin’s anger.  
He grabbed his plate quickly and sat down next to Arthur, “You can’t keep me here forever.”  
“Can’t I?”  
“It’s weird. It’s controlling.”  
“I’m not controlling you. Do whatever the fuck you want. But I’m not letting you kill yourself because you want to go on a suicide mission to visit a corpse.”  
“It’s my life. I can do what I want with it.”  
“You think this is about you? Nobody is allowed to leave Camelot.”  
“That’s weapons-grade bullshit.”  
Lance sat down and Arthur turned to him, obviously intent on avoiding their conversation.  
Merlin sat there and fumed. Did he think that this was over?  
The rest of the lieutenants filed into their seats and they began briefing Arthur on their department. Elena was wondering if they really needed another hall of apartments, Percy was worried someone was stealing from the grain storage, Gwaine asked permission to take apart the car to help build a wind turbine. Arthur told Elena to wait on it, asked Lance to send a guard to scout out the grainery, and cautioned Gwaine against it: “We only have one car.”  
He was so fair it was maddening. How was he so impossible when it came to this?  
After that, the evening devolved into conversation. Gwen began to discuss her experiments with growing plants underground. Merlin tried to be as polite and present as possible but she still picked up on his dour mood.  
When there was a lull in their conversation, Merlin attempted again.  
“At least give me back my backpack.”  
“You don’t need any of that stuff.”  
“It’s mine.”  
“Actually, a lot of stuff I found in there was stolen from Camelot.”  
“That’s an invasion of privacy.”  
“You just want your backpack back so you can leave.”  
“I want my backpack back because it’s mine!  
“Can we talk about this later? You’re making a scene.”  
Merlin’s blood ran hot, “I’m making a scene. Me?  
Their voices had grown louder  
“Everything okay over there?” Gwaine called from across the table.  
Merlin looked down at his beans and rice. Arthur fiddled with his fork.  
“Merlin wants to leave.”  
The table quieted and Merlin realized that more than just Gwaine had an ear in their conversation.  
“Oh?” Gwen’s voice sounded like she was trying to sound normal.  
“Yea. I’m actually trying to make my way North.”  
“You want to go back out there?  
“I’m going to visit my parents. To see if they’re still alive.”  
“They’re dead.” Gwaine said, “Without a doubt, I can tell you, they’re dead.”  
The large man beside him elbowed him.  
“What? I’m just telling him the truth.”  
“My parents lived in a very rural area. It missed that place.” Even to his own ears, his plan sounded stupid. “It’s only eighty miles away.”  
“And I don’t want him to go.”  
“But he shouldn’t get to decide that.”  
The table was silent. Arthur shifted beside him.   
“Sorry mate.” Gwaine said, “But Arthur actually does get to decide that.”  
Beside him, Arthur preened.  
Merlin looked around the table. Nobody would meet his eye.  
“I lost my sisters.” Lance said. “I wonder about them everyday. But they were still in Spain when everything went down. There’s nothing I can do for them.”  
Merlin wanted to scream that his parents weren’t in Spain. They were only eighty miles away. He’d come so far. But he was already humiliated and embarrassed so instead he smiled and gave his apologies and moved on.  
The rest of dinner was more quiet. Gwen tried her best to cheer him by talking about her group. “When they joined my team, they expected to be doing plant experiments all day. In truth, we’re glorified farmers. And we spent the day collecting worms. The children loved it, in all honesty. Their parents? Not so much.”  
Merlin laughed but his heart just wasn’t in it. Gwen sensed it though, and didn’t push him too hard.  
Arthur did not try to walk him back that night. Instead it was Gwaine that caught his arm as he left.  
“Listen. I’m sorry about your family, and between us, I’m on your side. But we’re all too faithful to Arthur to speak against him. He took us in, gave this to all of us. Food, water, life. We all owe him something. He runs Camelot well and he’s fair. He accepts criticism and adapts. But none of us are going to take your side in an argument against him. We’re too loyal.”  
When Merlin first met Gwaine, he wondered why Arthur would put him in charge of mechanics. Morgause was more qualified, Alfred calmer. Gwaine seemed like a loose cannon: loud and uncontrolled.  
But now he realized. Despite his loose-lips and lackadaisical demeanor, Gwaine was the most steadfast out of all of them. When the chips were down and Arthur needed someone to speak for him, Gwaine would be there.  
Merlin looked at him with new eyes. No wonder Arthur had raised no objections to letting him work with him, “I understand. Goodnight Gwaine.”  
“See you in the morning.”

That night Merlin took a bath and borrowed a book from Freya. Clean, content and full, he came to another decision.  
If Arthur would not see reason, and nobody would help him, he’d simply have to switch tactics.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your lovely comments.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can tell I'm going to have to go back and edit this, but I like to let things sit a while.

Merlin’s and Arthur’s dynamic was weird. Gwen thought. They’d fought fiercely at dinner, but in the morning had apparently forgotten all about it. By lunch they were deep in conversation.  
Arthur changed in the presence of Merlin. Not drastically. But he smiled more. Laughed at Merlin’s jokes. They played off each other in conversation. Merlin poked fun at Arthur’s weight and the table froze for a second, but Arthur had just laughed and mentioned that at least he didn’t have the ears of Dumbo. He was still Arthur, just a happier version. Less stick-in-bum.  
As to Merlin, Gwen couldn’t say. She knew he wanted to leave, but he seemed so happy here.

Merlin knew his next move might be his last chance. He was already watched vigorously, and if he was caught again his freedoms would drop to the negatives. So his attempt had to be well thought out.  
He bided his time. Observed how things worked. Looked for any dark corners. And if during this time, he ended up rekindling a friendship with Arthur, then so be it. Arthur had changed since their breakup. He was more relaxed, less worried, Pre-apocalypse Arthur was always perfect. Clean-shaven, spotless clothes, in shape, with a winning smile covering up all his insecurity as a bonus. Now he was shaggy, more carefree. But still in charge. That never went away.  
They were friends again, but he could tell Arthur wanted more. Merlin loved him. But everytime Arthur would move toward the flirting stage, he’d duck away from the physical touch. He knew that if they began again, they’d spiral toward the same ending as before.

The car. Merlin decided. If it had come in, then there had to be a way out.  
“How’d that car get to be there?” He asked Morgause.  
She spoke with a Russian accent, “They dug it in.”  
“But this concrete seems solid.”  
“Filled it in afterward and then we cemented in the room.”  
“Do you think it would be possible to dig your way out?”  
“Possible. If you have a week and a shovel, no fear of dying in a collapsed tunnel, and no one trying to prevent you from leaving.”  
“Gwaine’s been talking, huh.” Morgause didn’t reply. Merlin drummed his fingers on the table, “Would you steal one of those power tools for me?”  
“What’s in it for me?”  
“The knowledge that you’re doing something good.”  
Morgause snorted and went back to fixing the plant light.  
“How would you do it? If you wanted to leave.”  
“I wouldn’t want to leave.”  
“But if you did. Could you?”  
“I escaped communist Russia. I can escape anywhere.”  
“So how would you do it?”  
She was silent. Then she plugged in the lamp. It turned on, “All the guards have the same uniforms.” She turned her attention to the walkie-talkie next to her.

They were installing a door when Merlin mentioned he had to go to the bathroom.  
“Course.” He replied, setting down his tools to accompany him.  
“I’m really sorry about this mate.” And Gwaine was.  
“It’s fine. Not holding it against you.”  
He felt some relief at that. He was just following orders. Personally, if Merlin wanted to go kill himself outside, he had every right to do that.  
“I wouldn’t follow him if I didn’t believe in him.”  
“I should hope not.” Merlin replied with a smile.  
He waited outside the restroom. It was embarrassing for both of them to have to do this. It’d been almost two weeks since their last spat though, and Merlin seemed to have quieted down quite a bit. Maybe he could talk to Arthur and see if they could leave him alone.  
Gwaine realized Merlin was taking a long time.  
“Merlin?” He called out in the room. No response. Some people were looking at him strangely. He ignored them.  
“Merlin?” He called out again, walking in. He began checking some of the stalls.  
No Merlin. He attempted to push one in and a lady’s voice came though, “Dude. The fuck are you doing?”  
“Sorry, sorry.”  
He’d reached the last stall, “Oh fuck. Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck.”  
He’d lost him. Of course. He turned and ran.  
Behind the stalls, a lump of dirt opened its eyes.

Merlin had realized the privy was his best bet. It wasn’t heavily watched, and the walls were dirt, not stark white concrete. Sanitation dug a new trench every week, and a new room every month. The stalls were a brilliant design actually. They gave privacy, but also could be picked up, washed, and moved to the next room easily.  
And with enough upper body strength and will-power, one could climb over the top, slip unnoticed behind them in the darker area, and burrow down into the dirt.  
It’s not as gross as it sounds, given that he’d checked with Mithian and this was a freshly dug room. And he’d eaten worms for dinner one night. This was nothing.  
After Gwaine left, he grabbed the bag he’d hidden and changed into a guard uniform. Gwen and Lance had invited him and Arthur over quite a bit lately. And Lance was a slob. He hadn’t seemed to notice that some of his cargo pants had gone missing. Or his shirt. Or a jacket.  
Merlin walked out of the bathroom confidently. He was only missing the shoes, and nobody would notice a little detail like that. He had to move quickly. It would take five, maybe six minutes for Gwaine to find Arthur. They would go find Lance which would take eight minutes, and it would take as much as twelve minutes to alert every guard.  
He strode confidently through the hallways, not making eye contact with anyone. His hair had grown longer, so he used it to cover his face.

Lance’s new radio was on the fritz. A family had brought in four of them, but the EMP had rendered it useless. Gwaine’s people had gotten two of them up and running, but they were fiddly things, and the voice on the other end just sounded like static.  
“Arthur? Do you hear me? Over.”  
The contraption screeched.  
“You’re not coming through.”  
“It’s Merlin-” And then the line cut.  
Merlin. It was always bloody Merlin. Had he escaped? Where could he go? There was only one exit to all of Camelot and it was heavily guarded.  
If Merlin had escaped, Arthur would be in a mood for weeks. Maybe months. Maybe years. Lance set another guard on his post and walked toward the entrance.  
Something caught his eye. Those weren’t regulation shoes. The guard in particular was walking away from the field. Quickly. Too quickly.  
Lance grabbed two of the guards from the field and began to follow. He'd trained them on how to move quietly and quickly. All of a sudden, he saw Arthur and Gwaine appear at the entrance. He pointed at Merlin walking away. Arthur nodded and began to run after him. Lance wanted to yell at him to move away. He was making too much noise. If Merlin heard him, he’d start running too.

Merlin heard someone behind him and he broke into a run. So they’d found him. Someone must have seen him walking out. Shit. Shit. He dared to look back. Arthur. Arthur bloody Pendragon was in a full tilt spring behind him. New power surged into Merlin’s legs and he focused on running. He had a full head start. With luck, he’d be able to outrun him and find a place to hide. There were some trees up ahead. He heard the thud of foot falls behind him. Merlin poured on some speed. The trees were getting closer. He risked a look behind but all of a sudden he was falling through the air, slamming onto the ground. He jumped up as quickly as he could but those precious few seconds were all it took for Arthur to catch up. He’d barely begun running when Arthur full-tackled him to the ground. They tumbled onto the ground. Rolling over and over.  
Merlin was crying, he realized. All of his planning. All of his efforts.  
“Why?” He asked, “Why won’t you just let me go?”  
“Because I love you.” Arthur said to him,  
Merlin sobbed harder.  
He’d gotten control of himself by the time Lance and Gwaine had caught up.  
“Take him to his chambers.”  
The guards grabbed him by each arm and led him away, unresisting.  
Lance hesitantly said to Arthur, “If he doesn’t want to be here, maybe it’s best to let him go.”  
Arthur glared at him, “I’m sending these radios back with Gwaine. Hopefully he’ll have them running successfully soon.”  
Lance looked at Gwaine, who just shrugged and took them.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying to upload a chapter a day but might miss one tomorrow. Busy with another story.

When Arthur knocked on Merlin’s door, there was no answer.   
He opened it a crack. Merlin was lying away from the door.  
“Are you okay?”  
No response.  
“I know you’re upset.”  
“I hate you.”  
“I know you do.”  
“No really, I fucking hate you.”  
“I know.”  
“It doesn’t bother you? Me not wanting to be here. Trying to escape from under your nose?”  
“It’s not ideal. But you’ll give up soon.  
“And what? I’ll fall into your arms and we’ll live happily ever after?”  
“It’s a hope of mine.”  
“Arthur, you know me. And I know you. And I know you’re smart enough to see that I will never stop trying.”  
“And you know me. And you know I will never let you go.” He rubbed the back of his neck, “God. This is why we broke up.”  
Merlin sat up, “You want to go there?”  
“No, not particularly.”  
“Avoiding it like always.”  
“I do not avoid my problems.”  
“You fucking do! When we started spiraling, you went and hid in your work instead of sucking it up and hashing it out with me.”  
“I only avoid fights with you because you’re so quick to anger! We’ll be having a normal conversation and suddenly you’re up and pacing, with words flying a mile a minute.”  
“Well, trying to get anything through your thick head is impossible!”  
“Case in point.”  
Merlin ground his teeth, “Listen, I know I can get angry fast.” He sighed, “I’m not an angry person, but I just feel too much. I just care about too many things.”  
“I know. It’s one of the reasons I love you.”  
Merlin rolled his eyes, “Spare me.”  
“But you have to admit that we could barely have a discussion without ending in anger.”  
“Because I cared too much about our relationship. You just came off as apathetic.”  
“Sometimes arguing with you is like arguing with the sun.”  
Merlin sighed, “I know.”  
“But just because I wasn’t loud about it does not mean I didn’t care just as much.”  
“I know that.” And Merlin realized that he had known that all along. In his expensive gifts, the time he carved out for him, Arthur had put a lot of effort into their relationship.  
“I know that.” He said again. Arthur just looked at him.  
“That wasn’t the only reason you broke up with me though.”  
“No. No, it wasn’t.” Merlin looked at the ground, “You wouldn’t even tell people about our relationship.”  
“I wasn’t out of the closet.”  
“Five years. We dated for five years. Only a handful of people knew.” He began pacing, “It was fun at first. Like a secret. But after a while, it just felt like you were ashamed of me. And I couldn’t go back to that. Not when I’d almost killed myself in high school trying to fit in. I need to be proud of who I am. ”  
“Coming out is something that’s personal. I wasn’t ashamed of us, but I also wasn’t ready for the world’s judgement.”  
“That’s what the world does!”  
“I just needed some more time”  
“But you kept saying that.”  
“My dad is not as accepting as your parents. He was homophobic and honestly? Slightly racist.”  
“And you wouldn’t stand up to him.”  
“I stood up to him all the time. Just not in this case. It just wouldn’t have done any good. I’d have gotten kicked out of the company and lost my father.”  
“And you would have gained me!” Merlin said, throwing up his hands.  
“It felt like you were asking me to choose between your love and the company. But I loved that company. I’d worked at it all my life. It meant a lot to me. You meant a lot to me.”  
“It’s not worth it if you can’t be yourself.”  
Arthur stared at him, “Do you know how it feels to know your dad’s love is conditional?”  
Merlin started. No, he didn’t know that. He sat down, “We were just at different points in our life.” He sighed, “Why didn’t we have this conversation three years ago?”  
Arthur shrugged, “Pride.”  
“Ah yes.”  
“I wasn’t about to chase after you only to be rejected.”  
“And I wasn’t going to come back and be rejected after everything I’d said in anger.”  
“I let you go before. And I really regretted it. So, I’m not letting you go anywhere now.”  
“Jesus, Arthur. That’s not your decision.”  
‘When the bombs hit, I lost everything. My company, my sister, my father. I’m not losing you too.”  
Merlin laughed bitterly, “And I’m going after my parents because I can’t bear to think I lost them.”  
Arthur sat down next to him and they sat in silence for a moment.  
“I want to kiss you.” Arthur said.  
“Don’t.”  
“Because you think we’ll end up in the same spot?”  
“Because you shouldn’t get rewarded from trapping me here.”  
“I’m not going to release you.”  
“And I can’t bear to ignore you.” Merlin realized.  
“Then friends, we shall stay.”  
“Are you going to keep trying to escape?” Arthur asked.  
“Are you going to keep me here?” Merlin replied.  
Arthur stood up and offered his hand, “Are you coming to dinner?”  
“Only because I’m hungry, not because I forgive you.”  
“I understand that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If any of you are GOT fans, go check out my new story on Sansa Stark. I felt weird writing a completely male dominated story so I had to compensate.


	8. Chapter 8

Mondays and Thursdays were judicial days. The close quarters of the individuals fostered a high level of drama. A lot of these arguments were petty and small.  
Two men had gotten in a fight, a woman wanted to be moved out of sanitation, and a new person had come in yesterday.  
Both men worked as guards. A woman had broken up with one for the other. He didn’t know them so he sent for Lance. If this was going to be repetitive, he’d move them to different assignments. He couldn’t afford to have angry guards.  
The woman had no skills to speak of. She remained where she was.  
The new recruit was a martial arts trainer. He sent her to Freya for a room with instructions to send her to Lance afterward.  
And then Merlin had come in.  
Arthur watched him walk across the floor, and then sink to his knees. He grit his teeth.  
“State your case.”  
“I want freedom to go outside.”  
“Denied. Next.”  
“You didn’t listen to me.”  
“I know what you’re going to say.”  
“It’s within my right to ask, and a fair leader would hear me.”  
Arthur set his jaw, “Fine. Proceed.”  
“I wish the freedom to leave Camelot, a free man, to try and find my family. If I find them, they can find a home here. If I cannot find them, I wish to return.”  
“And at what point would you give up and return? You’ll look for them until you die.”  
“I know when to accept defeat.”  
“Then accept it now. Approving your request would set a precedent for people to leave and return whenever they feel like it. Order must be kept.”  
“I’m not asking for free range to leave and return whenever I want. Only once.”  
“And I thought you said you knew when to accept defeat. Case dismissed.”  
Merlin glared at him with hot ember eyes. But he stood up, and walked out.  
Arthur shifted in his seat. You know he’ll never stop. A small voice whispered in his head. He’ll never stop. 

Merlin fumed for the rest of the day. His parents could be out there dying for all he knew. Gwaine gave him a wide berth and an individual assignment.  
Why was he surprised? Not only had he denied every appeal Merlin had made to him, Arthur wasted manpower by putting guards on his door at night. He’d literally chased him down and dragged him back.  
But Arthur had always been about justice. Doing what was right, instead of what was easy. Surely, he could see it was madness to literally trap one of his citizens against his will. That was bad right? Not allowing someone to leave? Chasing them down and dragging them back?  
But nobody even saw that it was a problem. Or would even acknowledge it to him. No, he was the strange one for wanting to leave.  
He’d worked himself into quite a temper by the time the day was over. This was it, he decided. He could no longer hang around Arthur. If he was to be kept prisoner here, then he would not be friends with his jailor. It was stupid for him to be at the lieutenant’s table for meals anyway. It’s not like he’d worked his way up like any of them.  
Gwaine walked him to his room quickly and practically spinted away. That one had a nose for avoiding conflict. The guards at his door further blackened his mood.  
He slammed the door open and saw Arthur sitting on his bed in darkness.  
His initial thoughts turned straight to fury, but he tamped that down, “You should ask permission before invading someone’s personal space.”  
“You will forgive me.”  
“Will I?”  
“You will.”  
Merlin took a closer look, shining the light on the lump beside him, “Is that my backpack?”  
“It’s yours, isn’t it?”  
Merlin leapt toward it to examine it.  
“The truly just thing to do in your situation is allow you to leave but not return.”  
Merlin’s hands slowed as he rifled through his backpack, “Is that your decision?”  
“It’s not. I said I didn’t want to set the precedent for people coming and going. A standard to which I hold to. You’ve seen what humanity has fallen to above the ground.”  
Merlin shuttered, “I fully understand the depravity in the wastelands. But they’re lost people. A place like Camelot could do them some good.”  
Arthur’s eyes looked very sad, “Do you know why I have a PA and guards at my door? A couple months ago, a man crept into my chambers hoping to kill me. He wanted to take over. But I was awake and I was not the one to die that night. Not everyone in Camelot is a good person. A lot of them are. But not all survivors are heros. The apocalypse brought out the worst in people. And if someone left to tell the wrong people about Camelot, this could all end. Civilization was destroyed with the press of a button. What would it take for a small bubble like this to dissipate?”  
“That’s not a valid comparison.”  
“If the wrong person left to tell the world about us, they could bring back chaos. Lance might be able to fend off a dozen, maybe two. But not without casualties. We can’t let just anyone come and go.” Arthur took a deep breath, “But you’re not just anyone. To me, at least.”  
Hope flooded through him and he looked up at Arthur, “What are you saying?”  
“I’m saying that I’m making an exception for you. You have my blessing to go search for your family and if you so choose, you may return when you have completed it.”  
All of a sudden, Merlin was in his lap. Kissing him.  
“Oh.”  
The backpack was knocked to the floor, forgotten.  
“I just want you to know, I didn’t come to that conclusion so I could get laid.”  
“I know. All your conclusions are based on your aggravating sense of honor.”  
“How did you turn one of my strengths into a roast?”  
“One of my many talents.” Merlin began to kiss down his torso, “You might want to send the guards away.”

They spent the night together. After three years and an apocalypse, they had a lot of catching up to do. It felt warm, safe. Arthur felt a sort of happiness that he hadn’t felt in years.

But he woke to Merlin dressing. A pit formed in his stomach, “Are you leaving?”  
“I am.”  
“I took the liberty of packing you extra provisions.”  
“I saw. Thank you. I’m sorry Arthur. But I have to do this.”  
“I know you do.”  
“What if it was Uther or Morgana?”  
“I’d stay here, safe, and make love to me again.”  
“You would not. You’d go and find them.”  
Arthur was silent.  
It was still early. Only a few people were in the halls. That was good. He didn’t want to make any other exceptions for anyone else.  
At the entrance, Merlin kissed him, “I love you.”  
“I love you too. Be safe. Come back in one piece.”  
The morning was cold and the weather gray. As it had been.  
Merlin turned around. He mouthed “Thank you.”  
Arthur just nodded. And watched the figure fade into the distance.  
“Sorry boss.” Lance said to him.  
“Yea. Me too.”  
“Let’s go get breakfast.”  
“That’s a good idea.” He turned and walked with Lance to the cafeteria.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Should I end it here lol


	9. Chapter 9

Surviving above ground was possible. Possible, but not easy. The main issues were finding proper food and water, but Arthur had taken care of that for him. His back ached from the weight, but it was better than traveling without. He followed the disintegrating roads so as not to get lost, but took care to always be a little ways off. Roads provided no protection, and there was always a chance that someone less friendly was walking them as well. Bushes and ruins provided fast coverage if something came up.  
It was lonely traveling by yourself, but better. Traveling buddies only worked out when you were both on the same level of survival and you trust each other completely. And even then, talking greatly increased your chances of being overheard so you had to be silent.  
Different tribes wandered around above ground. He was sure not all of them were completely horrible, but the one’s he’d seen had all been cannibals.  
The scenery wasn’t much to look at. A gray pallor had permeated the world. Ash fell from the sky, sometimes broken by an intermittent rain. He passed flattened cities and towns, polluted lakes, destroyed bridges. All those lives, all their worries, dreams, hopes, fears. Demolished. The age of ashes was upon them.  
After three days, the road passed into a pitiful excuse of a forest. The road was intact, so the bombings must have missed this area, but what was once a lush national park was struggling. Most of the leaves were on the ground or were a sickly shade of yellow. Where there should have been sounds of a forest, only silence met his ears. He stared at a decaying log and shuttered, remembering a meal of grubs he’d had. And been thankful for.  
He considered avoiding the forest, walking around it. But as sickly as it appeared, it was large enough that he couldn’t see where it ended.  
He’d already lost so much time in Camelot. Every day in this new world could mean death and his parent’s chances decreased by the day.  
His little group in the beginning had made the mistake of entering a forest. The world hadn’t been so completely dead at that point, and they’d thought the dense brush would conceal them. On the third day a man, half crazed, had leapt from the branches onto Sam’s head. He’s scratched and bit, tearing at her flesh. By the time Merlin and Audrey had stabbed him, she was bleeding profusely. They’d lost her a day later.  
Two hours into the forest’s unnatural silence he heard sounds. Branches cracking, the murmur of voices. He couldn’t tell the direction in which they were approaching. He could cover himself in dead leaves perhaps, but the leaf litter here was thin, and his log impressions weren’t very convincing nowadays.  
He scampered up a tree. He hoped he wouldn’t have to spend the night up here. With luck, they’d miss him completely.  
The sounds got louder. He dared not to climb higher for fear the branches would break.  
Below him passed a small group of three. Two women and a man. They were traveling light.  
Once upon a time he might have taken his chances. But now he just waited until they passed.  
When any sound of them disappeared, he counted to 1000, swung himself down, and continued.  
On the fifth day he realized he knew exactly where he was. He’d grown up on these streets. Learned to drive here, got his first job, walked to high school. With apprehension twisting a hole in his stomach, he walked toward his house.  
When it appeared in the distance, it was still standing. He wanted to break into a run, but continued to hide in the bushes. Lowering your guard was an easy way to die.  
But as he got closer, he realized that it looked...dilapidated. The windows were broken, the lawn overgrown and filled with weeds, the roof had collapsed up above. His father had built that house from scratch for his mother. Merlin’s apprehension twisted to anxiety.  
The door was broken and unlocked. He stepped inside.  
The cheerful wallpaper his mother had specifically chosen was rotting off the wall. Glass lay shattered on the ground. The kitchen had been looted, the refrigerator lying on the ground.  
“Hello?” He tentatively called out. No response.  
He walked up stairs. The roof had caved in over his parent’s bedroom. But he still checked. No corpses.  
His bedroom door was open and he looked inside. It looked the same. Some leaves had blown in and all his posters lay on the floor. Dust covered everything in a thin grey veneer. His piggy bank had been smashed but there was no money. Most of his clothes had moth holes and smelled gross, but he still took a pair of jeans that had survived.  
But nobody was there.  
Disquieted, he walked out of the house. So that was that then. His parents were both gone, probably dead. He’d return to Camelot and Arthur alone if he didn’t die on the return journey.  
He began walking away, before turning around and staring at it one last time. He was missing something, he could just feel it. Think. Think!  
The cars. Where were his parent’s cars? Hunith loved her pickup truck. They might have been stolen, sure, but the driveway didn’t have any signs of glass. They must have packed up when things got bad and gone somewhere else. But where?  
The hospital, he decided. Hunith was a midwife. It was the safest place to go, and she’d already been working there.  
He set off. Much of the town looked intact. He passed a few restaurants, a bank, two gyms. So the agent had been right. They’d missed some of the more rural towns.  
Upon first glance the hospital did not inspire hope. Half of it had been knocked down, and the other half was crumbling. Some of the windows were bordered up, but most were broken.  
Getting in was a whole different problem. He had to climb in through the broken area, climb over some pipes, and through some broken windows. By the time he reached an intact wing, he was panting. It was pitch black.  
He grabbed his gun and switched on his flashlight. He was in the intensive care unit. Slowly, he made his way through. There were no signs of life. He passed through cardiology. Nothing. He needed to find a basement. That’s where it would be the safest.  
All of a sudden he heard a gun reload and felt something poking at his neck.  
“Drop the gun.”  
Merlin slowly raised his hands in the air.  
“I said drop the grun or I swear to god, I’ll shoot you right here, right now.”  
Merlin did.  
“State your business.”  
“I’m looking for my family.”  
The man scoffed behind him, “We’re all looking for our family. Let me tell you what, you’re going to drop your backpack, and I’m going to march you out of here. You’ll leave with your life and we’ll never see each other again.”  
“I’m looking for Hunith and Balinor Emrys. Have you seen them?”  
The gun prodded his neck, “Drop your backpack!”  
He let it go. There was a fifty percent chance he’d be able to make it back to Camelot without it.  
The gun hesitated, “What’s your name?”  
“Merlin Emrys.”  
“Let’s go.”  
They traveled in the dark. Merlin thought about making a run for it. But his assailant appeared to know the passages by heart. The blackness would be more of a disadvantage to him. And with a gun at his neck he didn’t dare. People had learned that it was better to shoot first and ask questions later.  
He saw light in the distance, and even heard some voices. They weren’t leaving the building then. Shit. If he’d run into cannibals then that was it. Merlin prepared himself. If he stood a zero percent chance of living anyway then he’d go down fighting. Arthur had been right all along. The man prodded him forward into the space. Merlin prepared himself to strike.  
“Hunith. Is this your boy?”  
And in that moment, Merlin forgot about the gun on his neck because his mother was there, in the flesh hugging him and they were both crying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter might take a little longer to post.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll straight up pay someone for fanart of this.

“It’s you!” His mother gasped, feeling his face before enveloping him in another hug, “It’s really you.”  
“Mom.” He said, and then again, just to say the word, “Mom.”  
“I’d thought the worst, I really had. It all just went to hell didn’t it? And I almost gave you up for dead but then I said to myself. No. Not Merlin. My Merlin’s a survivor.”  
“I can’t believe it. How did you get here? Is dad here?”  
Hunith’s face dropped, “No sweetie. He didn’t make it. Shooters came through the hospital. He died helping to get rid of them.”  
A pang of sadness cut through his joyful reverie. He’d been sure they’d be together. Hunith and Balinor. They were high school sweethearts. You couldn’t have one without the other.  
“Your father was a great man.” The voice behind him said. Merlin turned around to see an African American man with glasses holding a shotgun, “Sorry about all that. You have to be careful with who you trust nowadays.”  
Merlin gave a weak smile, “It’s all good.”  
“This is Dr. Jones. He helps me keep things running around here.”  
“Your mother is the real leader here. I just have the shotgun.”  
Hunith took his hand, “Now, come, come. I must introduce you to everyone.”  
They were fourteen in all. Seventeen if you counted the babies.  
“You have families here. Children.”  
“Well, I do work in the obstetrics unit darling.”  
“How did this all….happen?”  
The virus had hit Ealdor hard, and they’d lost connection to the outside world. All of a sudden phones, television, everything had just stopped. The mail service had clogged up and soon the grocery stores had dried up. “You should have seen it. Empty of everything. We were lucky your father was always prepared.” The town had escaped most of the bombings, but the fallout was still bad, “My garden. All withered up. And then people got sick. Really sick.” The hospital had overflowed, and Hunith, just like every other day of the year, had gotten up to go to work. But things deteriorated like dominos. Money didn’t mean much, but the paychecks stopped. Most of the other nurses and doctors stopped coming. “Your father became my nurse.”  
“Dad? The one that faints at the sight of blood?”  
“The one and only. He wasn’t bad either. But he was useless when I delivered this one.” And all of a sudden a Hispanic woman was pressing a toddler into his hands. She was the sweetest little thing. She giggled up at him, “Hola.”  
“Hola.”  
And then a lot of things happened in succession. Three men had come to the hospitals with guns and masks. “They killed everyone.” Hunith said. “Balinor tackled one and stopped him but a bullet got him right in the heart.” Then a tornado had ripped through, taking half the hospital with it. “We just huddled down here. Hoping. Wishing. Praying.” An electrical storm, fires, and then winter.  
Something about being related to Hunith had warmed the group to him. They huddled around him, asking about news from the outside world. He didn’t have much.  
“My little group ran into a government operative trying to get to London. Some sort of mission. There were different waves of the bombs, is what she said. But I’m not quite sure how many. By the time I’d gotten out of the bunker, everything was ash.”  
“Is London still there? A boy asked him.  
“I don’t think so. All the cities were gone, and even most of the towns. I was shocked to find that Ealdor was even still here.”  
The boy paled and Merlin wondered who’d been in London, “From what I’ve seen, most of England is gone. The stuff that hit you guys was the same everywhere else. Smog covers the sun and nothing can grow. Most water sources are highly radioactive. But there’s a place. A place called Camelot that I found in all my journeys. It’s all underground, and it’s safe.”   
He pulled over his backpack, “Look.” He held up an onion, “They grow food there, and have Sundays off. It’s a whole civilization. We can all go there.”  
Hunith held up the onion in wonder, “Well I’ll be damned. A real life onion.”  
“And there’s more. Lentils and wheat and spinach. Gwen knows more, she’s the head of agriculture. But they’re all set up. It’s sustainable.”  
“You must tell us more at dinner.”  
An older woman in the corner spoke up, “And could we use that onion?”  
They had thin mushroom onion soup and slightly stale bread for dinner. The woman sauteed the onion and mixed it with some concentrated cream of mushroom and added water. It was the last of Merlin’s bread, but he was happy to part with it. They had electricity here,  
“The hospital generators stayed intact.” She said as she stirred the soup, “Some of them at least. But we’d all prefer food instead.”  
“It’s a feast.” One of the women sighed as she sat down at the table.  
Hunith spoke quietly, “Not much is left. We’re down to scraps. I go out with John and Mordred occasionally to search for food, but we’ve picked the town clean. We might have enough for another couple weeks.”  
Alice spoke, “And that’s being generous. We could be eaten clean out in a day if I let people have their way.”  
“Tell us more about Camelot.” His mom asked.  
“Arthur runs it.”  
“Arthur Pendragon?” She gasped.  
“He’s something of a king.” Merlin said sheepishly.  
“And how is he?”  
“He’s doing well.”  
“And are you guys…?”  
“Back together? I don’t know. Maybe.”  
Dr. Jones looked concerned, “What do you mean he’s a king? Is he a good person? Can we trust him?”  
“Sorry. We just call him that because he runs the whole place. In truth, he’s a wonderful leader. He’s fair, but strict. Problems are dealt with quickly and discreetly. He’s helped move the place forward and keep everyone happy.”  
“It sounds like you’re back together.” His mom said.  
“I don’t know if we are.”  
Dr. Jones set down his bowl, “How far away is it?”  
“Eighty miles.”  
“Eighty miles away? What if this Pendragon is a tyrant and your boy is just half in love with him?”  
“I know this Arthur boy. He’s very sweet.”  
“That may be so. And it’s important we get everyone to a safe place. But it’s dangerous out there.”  
“I can get us to Camelot.” Merlin said.  
“Your confidence makes me suspect that you haven’t spent much time outdoors.”  
“I’ve spent most of my time surviving outdoors.”  
“And I’m not doubting you. But I know what’s out there. Eighty miles is a long way away. You can’t guarantee our safety. How long did it take you?  
“Five days.”  
“Then it will take us at least seven or eight. Can we survive that long out in the open? A group of fourteen, with three squalling babes? And there’s a storm coming, I can feel it.”  
Hunith sighed, “It’s better then staying here and slowly starving to death.”  
Dr. Jones sat back and gave a sigh, “That it is.”  
Merlin paused for a moment, before leaning forward, “You’re right. I can’t truly guarantee secure passage. But I can promise that I will do everything in my power to get all of you to safety.”  
Hunith looked at her son, “We may have to hold you to that.”


	11. Chapter 11

They set out at first light. A small group in a line with Merlin and Hunith in the front and Dr. Jones in the back. Merlin had discussed the rules ahead of time. They did not talk, they did not stray. Communication was imperative but even whispers should be kept at a minimum.  
Merlin shifted the pack on his back. It was heavier then he would have liked. But the hospital had medical supplies that Camelot desperately needed. Gaius spent much of his time worrying about running out of antiseptic and having sterile syringes.  
They’d spent last evening in a flurry of packing. Hunith had put him on bag check duty to ensure that everyone was bringing the right things. He walked through the rooms, meeting people and checking what they packed. Everyone had their own room, courtesy of living in a hospital. Merlin had realized a couple days in that the only reason he’d had his own room in Camelot was because of Arthur.  
Alice had doled the rest of the food up evenly, but there hadn’t been a lot. How they had survived this long Merlin didn’t know. Some got cans of spam, others tomato paste. His mother had looked at him ruefully, “And all the times I’d complained about that terrible hospital food. He split up the rest of his provisions of lentils and beans. It was just something you did when working with a group.  
Alice had put him in his own room with a medical bed to boot. Nothing had ever felt more comfortable. He stayed up as late as he dared talking with his mom. He’d missed her so much. He wanted his dad. He missed Arthur.  
By the end of the first day of walking, their pace had slowed to a crawl. He had hoped they’d have reached the forest by then, but some members in the back began to fall behind and he didn’t want to run them down on the first day.  
They’d bedded down in the ruins of an abandoned mansion. At one point it might have been magnificent, but all that remained were a couple walls and a foundation. Alice held up her matches and tilted her head indicating an interest in starting a fire but he shook his head. They didn’t know who was out there. There was no hiding in larger groups. If they attracted the attention of a tribe, their only choice would be to fight. He looked around at the group, with only six he’d feel comfortable sending into battle and sighed, “I’ll take first watch.” They would enter the forest tomorrow.  
On the second day Merlin kept an eye on the sky. The clouds were looking a darker grey than usual. A hurricane would ruin them. He’d been lucky with the weather on the way up, just some rain but now was when it really mattered. He considered having them walk on the road. It would conserve energy and allow for faster time, but still didn’t risk it. Fourteen was a large number but anyone could see how weak they were.  
Toward midday, a rustling sound broke the silence of the forest. Practice had trained his ears to sounds that shouldn’t be there. He halted the line. Something was coming. The sounds grew closer. Multiple somethings.   
He looked around. There was no cover, shelter. Nowhere to hide. Fighting would be a terrible idea. They needed a distraction.   
“Drop to the ground and cover yourself in leaves,” He whispered to his mom. Hunith took his message and telephoned it down the line. Merlin dropped his backpack, burrowed it into the ground, and walked onto the road.  
He put his hands in his pocket, a knife on one side and a gun on the other, their cold protection giving him strength. He walked idly, humming an old musical that had popped into his head. The rustling sounds of footsteps had stopped for a moment but now they grew closer. Two men emerged from the forest walking from the opposite direction of the group. With a bit of luck, the group should be able to remain hidden.  
The two men walked toward him. That was concerning. Most people were more wary nowadays. The only people that didn’t were the ones you wanted to avoid in the first place. He put his hand up as they approached, “Hey.” He greeted them, making an attempt to sound as casual and friendly as possible.  
“Hello.” The one on the left replied coolly. The bigger one, Merlin noticed. But Merlin was still taller, better fed. If it came to blows, he’d win. But not against two.  
“It’s so great to run into another person nowadays. We’ve become an endangered species out here.”  
“You travelin’ alone?” He drawled.  
Fuck. Merlin thought. Fuck fuck fuck fuck, “Yep, all on my lonesome. Wish I wasn’t though. How about you guys?”  
The one on the left gave some sort of hand signal and all of a sudden people sprug up all around from the ground, “We never travel alone.”  
They moved to pull knives from their leg holster but Merlin pulled out his gun and shot both of them in the head.  
“Stay back.” He yelled, “I’ve got a gun.” But the tribe continued to advance. They were starving, he realized. Sunken cheeks and hollowed eyes. Lives didn’t mean much in the new age. Merlin spun in a circle. There were at least two dozen of them. He assumed they only carried knives and machetes or he’d be dead already. Merlin had four shots left. If he hit all his shots that still left ten. He could maybe take out two.  
It was fine, he realized. Hunith knew how to read a map and use a compass. They’d make it without him.  
It began to rain.  
Goodbye Arthur. He thought, as he took aim at the first man charging toward him.  
He took out the first two. They weren’t clean head kills like the first two, but he couldn’t afford any misses. He took aim at another and heard a gunshot. But he hadn’t fired. He turned around. A man lay behind him, dead. Further back stood the blurry figure of his mother, a smoking shotgun in her hand. Shit.   
No time to think. He shot the man running toward him. One bullet left. The men knew about his group now. They would find them, and they would kill them. They only had three more shots in that shotgun. He heard another shot. Two.  
The heavens opened up and rain began pouring from the sky.  
The groups wouldn’t get out of this, he realized. And even if they did, they’d be injured. And this might be a hurricane. How many would make it? They were still six days away at least. He’d done this. His idealism had led them to their deaths.  
And impossibly, over the thunder and lighting, Merlin heard the sound of a car approaching.  
His last bullet went to a man behind him with a machete and he dropped the gun to the ground and spat. Useless. He should have asked Arthur for more bullets. He pulled out his knife and lept backward as a man lunged at him. The rain was making the handle slippery.   
Behind him he heard the sounds of fighting. The man swiped at him but he dodged, feigned low but went high. He sunk his knife into the man’s neck, but by that time another had begun attacking and Merlin wasn’t quick enough. The blade went straight through his arm.  
Merlin jerked to hit her but only managed to nick her hand. The woman glared at him with eyes of hatred, and attacked. Their knives met in the middle. Two more were headed this way.  
Merlin kicked the woman backwards and a bright blue SUV slammed into him  
Gwaine and Arthur jumped out and Merlin’s attackers turned their attention toward the car. Shockingly, its arrival only seemed to increase their vigor. A novelty like this must certainly be worth fighting for.  
Arthur and Gwaine began firing and Merlin spun into action. He slammed the door open and ran toward where most of the group was huddled, “Let’s go!” He yelled. One of them cowered on the ground and he manhandled her onto her feet, “No time to waste!” Arthur and Hunith held them off as he led them to the car.  
Four others were fighting in a ring around the car. And still more of the men came.   
“Good to see you.” Gwaine said, yelling above the rain.   
“Likewise.” Merlin replied, watching a man charge their little wagon train. He held a long machete and moved to attack Alice. Merlin met him but his knife was short in comparison. He wouldn’t win this fight. He heard a bang and the man went down. Merlin turned to look and Arthur stood there with a smoking gun.  
When they were all packed inside an inane voice in the back of his head murmured about how this was illegal.  
“Get in the car!” Merlin shouted to his mother, “I’m right behind you!”  
She jumped in and was quickly followed by Dr. Jones and Mordred.  
And still the men came. There wasn’t enough room for two more people in the car, Merlin realized. They were already packed like sardines.  
“Get in the car Merlin.”  
“We both can’t fit!”  
“There’s enough room for one.”  
“Then you get in the car!”  
“This is not the time for insubordination!”  
Merlin slammed the door shut, “Gwaine! Get in the car and start driving!”  
“I’m not leaving you!”   
“You need to get these people to safety.” Arthur yelled.  
Gwaine took his last shot and threw the gun at Merlin before jumping in the vehicle, “What about you guys?”  
“Get them to safety. That’s an order Gwaine!” Arthur shouted.  
Gwaine looked behind him and reversed, bowling over some more unlucky attackers.   
And Merlin and Arthur stood back to back, as more of them came.  
The rain poured down.


	12. Chapter 12

With the car gone, their attacker’s excitement waned. Merlin and Arthur were both good shots and they couldn’t even get close enough to make a dent. A makeshift spear was aimed but Arthur saw it coming and ducked. It only took three more shots before their attackers decided they were more trouble then they’re worth.  
Merlin continued to shoot.  
Arthur put a hand on his arm, “They’re retreating.”  
Merlin picked another one of them off, “If we don’t kill them now, they’re just going to hurt more people or die of starvation.”  
Arthur gave him a wary stare.  
“What?”  
“Nothing. That was just… brutal.” He knew Merlin had changed. But pre-apocalypse Merlin had been a bleeding heart.  
Merlin shrugged, “You do what you need to do to survive.”  
The rain had calmed to a pitter-patter. That was good. Not a hurricane then.  
Merlin swayed on his feet. He might have fallen but Arthur propped him up, “You’re bleeding.”  
He was going into shock, Merlin realized. That was bad. They needed to move  
As his adrenaline left him, his arm began throbbing. He looked down. That was a lot of blood.  
Arthur half carried him half dragged him to the side of the road.  
“Down in the ditch. Black backpack.”  
He tried to take deep breaths. In and out. In and out.  
Arthur returned and began to unpack the bag,  
The pain was almost overwhelming. In and out, “Tourniquet.”  
Arthur tore a part of his t-shirt off and tied it around his arm. He unscrewed the water bottles and poured some water over the wound.  
“Fuck, that hurts.” In and out. In and out.  
Arthur unwrapped an alcohol swap and swiped in over both of the wounds, “Do you remember that stupid fight we had about our apartment bathroom?”  
Merlin hissed, “That was our first fight.”  
He applied pressure to the wound. It was straight in and straight out. It had cleared the bone. “I still think I was right.”  
“You may have been right, but the stick up your ass only increased that day.”  
Arthur pulled out a needle, “But I was right.”  
“Have you ever done stitches before?”  
“First time for everything.” Arthur willed his hands to steady before threading the needle.  
“You made a mountain out of a molehill. It wasn’t a big deal.”  
“You dripped all over the bathroom floor. When you could have just put the towel inside the shower. I was wearing socks!”  
He began to stitch the wound up.  
“But then the towel can get damp.”  
“Well that’s only because you take hour long showers.”  
“God, what I would give for a hot shower right now.”  
Each stitch was painstakingly slow. He dared not go faster in case of messing it up. “With actual shampoo and not that lye soap that’s way too harsh.”  
Merlin groaned, “Actually, you know what I miss most?”  
“Coffee?”  
“Oh god. Do I miss coffee. I would actually give my right arm for a cup of coffee.”  
He tied a knot, “So was that it?”  
“I really freaking miss those muffins we would get.”  
“Those were just cupcakes without the frosting.”  
“Exactly. They were muffins.”  
He started on the upper wound, “I miss that Asian fusion restaurant.”  
“The one with the pho?”  
“God it was truly fantastic. We never appreciated that stuff back then.”  
“Right? Like the idea that you could walk in a place and be served a full on meal? Often from a different culture? That was the pinnacle of humanity.”  
Arthur had messed up a stitch. He went silent as he tried to fix it. The rain had stopped.  
“Thank you for coming back for me.” Merlin’s tone had an odd inflection in it.  
“I lost you the first time. Not gonna do it again.”  
“You saved us. All of us. We would have died.”  
He finished sewing it up and spread some antiseptic over it, “Nah, I’m sure you would have thought of something.”  
“How’d you do it?”  
“Do what?”  
“Get the car working and everything.” Arthur opened his mouth but Merlin continued, “And don’t give me some modest, bullshit answer. That car was broken and locked underground. You got it running and around 60 miles away from Camelot.”  
“I put mechanics on it. Halted all their projects and told them to fix the car. Then I teamed up with Elena to dig it out. Took a couple days, but it all came together.” Arthur covered it in gauze and secured it with tape, “There.”  
“I’m really glad you’re here Arthur.”  
He didn’t know what to say to that, but it didn’t matter because Merlin was kissing him and Arthur loved when Merlin was kissing him. It didn’t last long enough, “We need to get out of here.”  
“Are you sure you can walk?”  
“We can’t stay here. They’ll be back.”  
“Let them. I have more bullets.”  
“You should conserve those.”  
“I know.”  
Merlin tried to stand up but he wobbled and sat back down, “Just give me a minute. I’ll be good in a minute.”  
Arthur went around and scavenged the corpse’s around them. He had to mercy kill a couple. But their bodies revealed nothing worth taking. He collected the rest of the bags from the ditch that had been forgotten in the chaos and took stock. They had medical supplies, water, two guns, knives, matches, spam, tomato paste, lentils, and some Camelot raisins. Gaius would be happy with the medical supplies. It would be enough. He tucked the matches into a hidden pocket in his pants and packed the rest in the backpack.  
Merlin sat up, “We need to get out of this goddamned forest.”  
“You need to rest.”  
“I’m good. Would I lie to you?”  
“Constantly and with no qualms.”  
“Touche.” Merlin groaned and got up. Arthur went to his side.  
“Are you sure about this?”  
“We’re fast running out of bullets and the amount of noise we made must have alerted the entire forest to our existence. We can’t afford to stay here.” He picked up his backpack and they began on their way.  
Merlin wished for silence but Arthur pressed him for the story of how he found his mother and all of a sudden they were talking just like old days. About how Merlin had survived so long out here. How Arthur had built Camelot and gotten people there. Traveling was faster when you had good company.  
They stopped by some upturned tree roots when it got too dark to continue.  
“I’ll take first watch.” Arthur said.  
Merlin didn’t complain, “I can’t believe we talked all through today. That’s basically asking for attention.” He settled into the tarp.  
He looked beautiful. Even damp and dirty. It gave him enough courage to ask a question that had been building up, “Do you think we’d make it?”  
Merlin rolled over and stared at him, “As a couple?”  
“Yea.”  
“I don’t know. We’ve changed so much.”  
“We didn’t make it before.”  
“Changing might have made us more compatible."  
“True. It’s not like I can yell at you for dripping water in the bathroom.”  
Merlin laughed, “God our problems were so small back then.”  
Arthur opened his mouth to ask Merlin to be his boyfriend but Merlin cut him off, “I’ve been thinking.”  
“That’s not good.”  
“Wow. Thanks. But no one ever leaves Camelot right?”  
“No one except you.”  
“There’s resources out here. Resources that Camelot really needs. The hospital had all the medical supplied Gaius could have hoped for. They had a generator. I think you need another position added. An explorer. They’d go out and scavenge materials and resources for us.”  
Arthur felt cold, “And who would chair it?”  
“I have the most experience surviving out here.”  
“Ah. And this would be a permanent position?”  
“Yes.”  
“I will certainly consider it.” He said coldly.  
“Arthur don’t do that.”  
“You need your rest Merlin, do you really want to expend energy fighting with me when we’re both tired and grumpy?”  
Merlin looked as if he wanted to say something, but instead he just rolled over and went to sleep. Arthur was left with the taste of anger on his tongue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a comment if you would! They really make me write faster.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm thinking around four or five more chapters to wrap things up.

Traveling with Arthur when he was angry was just cold. There was no other way to explain it. Funny, happy, joking Arthur was warm and funny with a joke on his lips. But pissed off Arthur was as cold as the air around him and stoic as a statue. The last time Merlin had seen him like this was when they’d fought about Uther.  
He’d tried to broach the subject in the morning, “We should talk about it.” That’s how they got over it last time. But this time Arthur just put a hand to his lips and whispered, “We shouldn’t talk. Might attract unnecessary attention.”  
An obvious excuse but Merlin wasn’t going to force him to talk.  
They didn’t speak for the entire next day. Even their silence was uncompanionable. They made good time though. Arthur was apparently trying to set some sort of world record for covering the max amount of distance post-apocolypse. Even Merlin sometimes had trouble keeping up.  
But by the morning of the next day he couldn’t take it anymore, “Arthur, why don’t you just talk to me?”  
“If I talk to you about this, I’m going to lose my temper.”  
“You can’t just ignore me for this entire trip.”  
“I’m the King of Camelot. I can do what I want.”  
“I really think that by scavenging we can truly increase people’s quality of life. This isn’t about you or me, it’s about what’s best for Camelot’s future.”  
“You’re going to go out there, and you’re going to get yourself killed.”  
“There are people out there that you could give safety and comfort to. Children, Arthur. Just like the ones we saved back there.”  
“And how many freaking psychos are out there? There are people that would rather see Camelot burn. What if we brought the wrong type of person back?”  
“I would be careful! I understand how precious the kingdom you built is. Do you think I’d let just anyone hitch a ride? God, even when we dated you were such a control freak!”  
“I wanted to know where you were at night one time! One fucking time!”  
“You controlled your company, you controlled Camelot, and you tried to control me.”  
“Because apparently when left to your own devices, you start brainstorming ways to get yourself killed!”  
“You’re not in charge of me! I’m not your employee which you can boss around, or a kingdom you have control over. I am a person with their own mind, their own head. And some of it might not align with yours but it doesn’t mean that my thoughts are crazy or bad or insignificant just because you can’t see it from my point of view!”  
“Because your idea is fucking suicide! You know it, deep down. Eventually this world will get you. Maybe it will be the first trip, maybe the fifth, maybe even the fiftieth. But it will get you and I won’t always be there to save the day.”  
“We have a working car! Probably the only one in England. It can help us transfer material back.”  
Arthur stepped forward, invading his personal space, “I have a working car. Me. I was the one that built Camelot from nothing, I was the one that had the foresight, I was the one that protected all those people. Not we. Me. You don’t want me to control you? Leave Camelot.”  
Merlin didn’t know what to do with the rage that filled him. It was like molten lava flowing through his body where his blood used to be. At that moment he wanted to hurt Arthur. To stop him from saying all those things, from kicking him out of what had almost been home. His hands snapped forward and he shoved Arthur backward.  
The blond fell to the ground, shrugged off his backpack and lunged toward him. Merlin was ready. They grappled with each other and Merlin knew he could grab his knife but he didn’t dare. His arm twinged and he knew that he’d soon rip his stitches.  
Arthur had always been stronger than him and that was when Merlin hadn’t spent a good chunk of time underfed. But that was fine, Merlin was resourceful. When Arthur tried to pin his hands, he kneed him in the balls.  
Arthur yelled in pain and Merlin shoved him down. Arthur had grown soft living inside Camelot. Pain, Merlin could handle. Hunger was an old friend. When Arthur regained himself his grip twisted his arm. Merlin screamed in pain as his wound stretched and used their proximity to headbutt him.  
Arthur had gotten above him again and Merlin was considering whether to use the rock at his fingertips when all of a sudden there were presences around them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow me on Tumblr: https://unofficialdragon.tumblr.com/


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your lovely comments.

Before Arthur knew what was happening he was being hauled upward. He tried to jerk free but a man held him on either arm. Merlin had picked up the rock that he’d fully intended for him and managed to hit one of the men, but that proved futile as they descended on him as well. Arthur struggled to yank himself away but they hit him in the stomach and he doubled over.  
“The gods have blessed us today!” One of them said. There were five of them. The leader of them picked up his backpack and rifled through it. He gave a high whistle and Arthur’s stomach clenched as he pulled out the gun.  
“Haven’t seen one of these in quite some time. And it’s loaded. Andal has truly heard us.” He picked up the other bag, “Let’s go.”  
Arthur attempted to break away but the men were holding him too tight. The leader held the gun to his chest, “Try again, and you’re gone.”  
They were marched to a swampy clearing. Merlin was in front of him. Arthur watched the back of his head, dearly wanting to make eye contact with him.  
The clearing might have been a town of some sorts a few years ago but now it was a collection of rotting walls and moss-covered stones. They’d assembled some sort of shelter around them using sticks and vines. It had an eggy smell to it. Other men were in the buildings. Not many, he saw with relief, but enough. They watched them with hollow eyes.  
But the most noticeable thing was the large figure in the center. Made entirely out of sticks and vines, it stood a formidable fourteen feet in the air. It was a person, Arthur saw. A man holding something. He wanted to stop and look but they jerked him away.  
A little ways behind the clearing was the entrance of a cave. It had vines hanging on the front, almost like a curtain. His anxiety heightened.  
It would be better to escape now, before they found out what was in there. But if Merlin wasn’t on the same page, it would flop. The leader still had the gun. For any chance of survival they would need to act quickly and in sync. Would Camelot be okay? He’d left Gwen in charge. She was fully capable. And she had Lance to back her up with the guards if things went south.  
As they entered, he realized that the figure in the middle of the clearing had been holding a coffin.  
The cave was dark and moist and reminded him of the time in college when he’d gone spelunking in Fiji. But then he’d been excited then and now he was full of dread. His eyes hadn’t adjusted and it was like walking in swampy blackness. But ahead there was a faint light and his eyes latched onto it. They appeared in a cavern.  
In front of them sat a man on a chair. The cave above him had a hole in it and a ray of sunlight fell on him. He had long greasy hair and an aquiline nose. He wore a shift made of some kind of leather and a matching cape. A man stood behind him. That wasn’t a chair, he realized. That was a throne. A crown of sticks sat atop his head. The men forced him and Merlin down on their knees.  
“Your Grace, we found them fighting near the boulders. They carried backpacks with food and medical supplies. And these.”  
The man knelt and held the two guns out in reverence.  
“Bring them closer.”  
The king looked them over before picking one up, “They’re both loaded?”  
“Fully.”  
“You’ve done well Agravaine. This is an offering from Andal himself. I shall have one, and you the other, for you must be blessed to have them be put into your path.”  
“I am honored, sire.”  
“It is the gods who have honored you, not I. Bring the men closer.” They were dragged forward. “They are gifts from Lativia herself. Frisk then and put them in the pit.”  
The guards began to pat them down. Arthur kicked out his legs as the man searched his pants. He felt a moment’s satisfaction as his knee hit flesh but the man quickly slapped him across the face in retribution.   
The king laughed, “This one is fiesty. We may have to have a fight tonight.”  
“Their backpacks have food as well.” Agraivaine said.  
“A fight and a feast. The gods are generous. Andal has seen our hardships and ordered a celebration. Take them away.”  
The men dragged them out of the cave and back to the clearing. The guns were out of the picture and Arthur considered making a run for it again, but then he was being pushed downward and he was falling. The landing took the wind out of him. He heard Merlin cry out in pain beside him as he lay gasping for air.  
His world narrowed down to the pain exploding in his side but as it receded he became more aware of his surroundings.   
Two women were staring at them. One blond and one brunette. They were both absolutely filthy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tired of reading my dark shit? I just wrote a fluffy piece called 'Would you like a drink?'. Give it a shot.


	15. Chapter 15

“Hello.” The blond one said.  
“Hello.” Arthur panted.  
Merlin crawled to the side of the pit and collapsed into a sitting position. He squinted,  
“I know you guys.”  
The women gave each other a look. The blond shrugged, “Never seen ya.”  
Merlin was holding his arm where he’d been stabbed, “When I was searching for my mom. You were walking the opposite direction. I hid up in a tree. You had a man with you.”  
The brunette spoke up, “My brother Brandon. They ate him.”  
Arthur winced at her bluntness, “Jesus Christ.”  
Merlin looked troubled, “I’m sorry to hear that.”  
“Don’t be. They’re going to eat you next.”  
“Us?” Merlin questioned, “But you were here first.”  
“They have this thing against eating women. As the weaker sex, we’re afforded some protection.”  
The blond rolled her eyes, “Religious freaks.”  
Arthur stood up and walked around the pit. It was small, only five or six meters across if he had to guess.   
“So what are your names?” He heard Merlin say behind him.  
“I’m Nimueh and this is Vivian.”  
The ground was uneven underfoot and the sides were thick with rocks and roots. It wasn’t loose soil, but clay.  
“I’m Merlin and that’s Arthur.”  
Without a shovel it would take weeks to even make a dent. Maybe they could carve footholds of some sort and climb out?  
Vivian must have read his mind, “You’re not going to get out.”  
“No?”  
“If it was possible, we’d have done it by now.”  
“Surely if I put one of you on my shoulders….”  
“Wouldn’t help. We tried it with Brandon. But people are constantly coming and going from Andal. Vivian got to the outskirts of the clearing before they caught her.”  
“Is Andal the figure in the center?” Merlin asked.  
“The one and the only. As far as I can figure, it’s a dualistic religion. They have two gods, Andal and Litivia. Litivia brings life into the world and Andal takes them away.” Nimueh said, “It’s actually quite fascinating. They consider the apocalypse a modern-day cleansing of the world.”  
Vivian snorted, “As far as I can tell, King Cenred is just a drug dealer that landed on his feet and had an excess of hallucinogens.”  
Arthur inspected the floor, “Have you ever tried digging down?”  
“Of course.” Nimueh said, “Until our hands were bloody. But underneath the soil and leaves it’s more clay, roots, and rock.”  
“And no way to climb out?”  
“You’re welcome to give it a try. It hasn’t rained in a couple days but it’s still too slippery to get very far. Because of it’s fine particles, clay retains the most water out of all the soils.”  
“Nimueh was trying to get a PhD in geology before shit went down.” Vivian explained, “That’s how we met.” She giggled, “She was my TA. I seduced her”  
“I prefer to think of it as mutual interest and affection transcended the pedantic university laws.”  
“But now I have no diploma and she's not a Doctor so she likes to interject her knowledge as much as possible into every conversation so as to not feel like those three years were a waste of time.”  
Merlin laughed, “I feel that. I play seven instruments well and know my way around fourteen. But I haven’t found any instruments whatsoever here. All that skill and nothing to play on.” His tone was light but Arthur heard an underlying sadness. There was no place for light and music in the age of ashes.   
“That may be so, but you still have your voice. Do you sing?” Nimueh asked.  
“Merlin is a nightingale. He’d take these early morning showers when we dated and wake me up. And I wouldn’t even mind because he’d sound so sweet.”  
Merlin had turned a bright shade of red.  
“Then you must sing for us.” Vivian said.  
“I haven’t sang in a while. My voice is rusty and I’m sure it would come out as a croak.”  
“Oh but please! I haven’t heard a song in ages.”  
“Don’t pressure him Vivian. He looks about ready to disappear from embarrassment.”  
Merlin jumped up, “Our best bet is waiting until tonight, standing on the other person and climbing out. They said it worked before, it may work again.”  
Vivian’s smile froze on her face. Nimueh shifted uncomfortably.  
“What?” He asked.  
“It’s just that...well. You may not last until tonight.” Nimueh said, “In the evening is when they took Brandon. They had a fight with him. With bets and everything. Right out in the clearing. We heard everything.”  
“He won.” Vivian said, “He won and they still killed and ate him.”  
Merlin looked positively ill and Arthur put on a light smile, “Well, that’s not going to happen with us.”  
They all looked at him doubtfully. Arthur reached inside his cargo pants, “Because I have matches.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Three more chapters to go. Sorry they're so short!


	16. Chapter 16

They came for him first, as Arthur knew they would. Merlin was tall and he’d gotten more scrappy but he was thin as a waif. Arthur even looked like a better fighter.  
Agravaine stood over them holding his gun, “Any funny business and you’re as good as dead.”  
They sent down a makeshift ladder and he trailed the gun to Arthur, “Climb.”  
“Am I going to fight somebody?”  
“You don’t ask the questions here. Climb.”  
At the top two others grabbed his arms. Agravaine held the gun to his chest, “King Cenred is going to perform the ceremonial rites on you. You must remain completely still.”  
It wasn’t night time yet, but the grey sky blocked much of the setting sun. The figure of Andal loomed over them all. The group of men standing in the clearing parted as he was walked in.  
Torches were lined in a circle. A man was kneeling in the middle. Arthur was brought across from him and they forced him to his knees. It was eerily silent.  
Cenred stepped in the ring. He was holding a bowl filled with ash. He grabbed a handful and tossed it around the ring, “Andal, hear us! You in your infinite wisdom have sent us this gift to help us stave off our hunger.” Another handful, “Litivia knew how close we were to consuming one of hers and protected them.”  
He walked around in the circle, “We are the survivors of the great cleansing. You think we’re here by luck? By chance? We made it here because we are the chosen! We are Andal’s! Our lives belong to him, and we must do what we need to do to survive!”  
He mixed some water into the ashes, dipped his thumb into the mixture and drew a line across Arthur’s forehead. He did the same to the other man, but added, “Our champion today is Odin, who will fight for our glory! Bless him!” The men surrounding them echoed “Bless him bless him.”  
Odin stood up. Unsure, Arthur stood up as well.  
“Now let the games begin!” Cenred threw down the bowl and it shattered and the men roared around him.  
Odin was a large man. A few inches taller than Arthur but far more muscular. Arthur garnered he had a boxing background and his suspicions were confirmed when Odin aimed a jab and followed up with a cross. Arthur jerked backward and felt heat on his back. Too close to the torches. He danced out of the way. He’d had taken some boxing classes, but that had been more than four years ago at this point. He was rusty.   
If he stood a chance, he couldn’t play by the rules of boxing. He feigned a punch but lashed out with his foot instead. He felt contact, but instead of looking winded, Odin lunged at him. Arthur dodged out of the way, putting more space between him and the torches. Around him, men were yelling and jeering. Placing bets and screaming for blood.  
Arthur feigned low but went high but he was too close and Odin aimed a hook at his face. He jerked backward, but not quickly enough. It clipped him on the nose. The crowd roared. Shards of bowl crunched underneath his feet as he stumbled backward and he felt blood drip down his face.  
Odin closed in but his eagerness was a flaw.  
Arthur easily dodged the punch and used his elbow to slam him in the face. Odin grunted and backed off for a second. Arthur pressed him, but he blocked every blow.  
All of a sudden the roars around them became muted, “Look!” He heard one of them say, “Look!”  
Arthur looked over Odin’s shoulder. Andal’s figure was smoking. Flame licked at the bottom.  
Odin turned to look and Arthur struck. But the site of the burning Andal sent Odin into a frenzy. The onslaught of hits sent Arthur backwards again until he felt the heat on his back.  
He jerked away from Odin’s book but realized how open he was. He expected the punch as it came.  
All of a sudden he was on the ground and Odin was standing above him.  
Cenred’s voice cut through, “Take him to the kitchens and deal with him. We must divine the meaning of this.”  
Arthur felt Agravaine and another pick him up by his arms. Odin followed them.  
The other men ran to the burning figure.  
“I hit him pretty hard.” Odin sounded proud.   
They were dragging him toward a building. Agravaine had stolen his leg holster. Arthur cracked open his eyes and saw his gun. Quick as a flash, he yanked his hands from them and launched himself at Agravaine. Caught off guard, Agravaine went down.  
Arthur yanked the gun from him and shot him. He could feel Odin coming at him but the other guard was closer so his bullet went to him. Just as Odin was about to tackle him, a blur came and Odin went tumbling. They were a tangle of arms and legs and Arthur didn’t have a shot but then Odin was on top strangling Merlin and Arthur put the gun to his temple and pulled the trigger.  
Merlin sat up and caught his breath.   
“Took your time, didn’t you Merlin?”  
“I came, didn’t I?”  
The shots had echoed across the clearing. Some of the zealots were still worshiping the burning Andal, but Cenred had grasped what was happening and the gun was in his hand. He shot toward them.  
Arthur grabbed Merlin and they ran toward the building. They zigzagged and two more shots rang out behind them. Cenred was wasting his bullets in his haste. Another bullet whizzed past and another. Merlin cried out next to him, but he didn’t stop running and neither did Arthur. Another shot, but they’d reached the building by then, and slammed the door.  
Vivian thrust knives into their hands, “I thought the plan was to not make any noise.”  
“Had to improvise. We’re gonna have to run like hell to get out of here.”  
“No.” Nimueh said looking through the door, “No, they’re coming. We’ll never outrun them. We’re going to have to fight.”  
She grabbed her knife and positioned herself at the door.  
“Are you okay?” He asked Merlin.  
He was looking pale, “All good. I got grazed on my side.”  
Nimueh opened the door.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They say you should write what you know and to be honest I have no idea what living in a post-apocalyptic world with cannibals is like but here we go!

Cenred might have wasted all his bullets, but Arthur still had three. But try as he might he couldn’t find his face among the rush of men coming at them. What a coward. Allowing your men to face a fight that you wouldn’t.  
“Semicircle!” He yelled out, “Backs to the wall!” They barely had time to form one when they struck. Some of the zealots had knives but others were completely unarmed. But they were still outnumbered three to one.  
Arthur stepsided one of the men before driving a knife in his back and slicing down.  
Out of the corner of his eye he saw Vivian shrinking back as three came at her. He shot the one with the knife.  
Two were coming at him. He parried a thrust from one, kicked him backward and shot the other. Only one bullet left. Where was Cendred?”  
The man came back and this time Arthur wasn’t fast enough. The knife nicked his arm. But it gave him the proximity he needed to sink his blade into the man’s heart. Nimueh was holding her own but one of the more competent fighters was facing Merlin. Arthur shot him.  
And Cenred must have been counting the shots because he heard the door open behind them and Arthur barely had time to dodge the machete. He turned around and his back felt horribly exposed but it didn’t matter because he was about to die from the front anyway.   
Cenred slashed at him, “I am Andal’s chosen!”  
Arthur jumped backward. But another thrust came, “I am the Priest of the Dawn!”  
Another swing and this time he felt air swoosh near his face, “Andal reborn! The God King!”  
Arthur stepsided and slashed forward, but Cenred met his blade. Arthur smashed him in the face and then jumped back.  
Cenred put his hand to his nose and it came back bloody. Arthur gave a grim smile. If a God King could bleed, then he should be playing more offense.  
Arthur thrust forward and Cenred dodged. He pushed him backward, trying to get him against the building’s wall. Arthur feigned low and went high but Cenred must have seen it coming because he grabbed Arthur’s arm and pulled him forward and hit him on the elbow. The knife clattered to the ground and Cenred kicked him backward. Arthur stumbled backward and tripped over a body.  
His back was on the ground and Cendred had straddled him and although Arthur had met his hands the blade was slowly sinking toward his chest.  
“I’m going to enjoy this.” Cenred whispered to him.  
His arms shook as he pushed up against Cenred’s strength but still it came.  
“I am the King!” Cenred screamed and used his weight to push the knife even lower.  
And all of a sudden there was a blade through Cenred’s face. His grip loosened and Arthur pushed the corpse away and scrambled away.  
Merlin spit at the corpse, “You are no King.”  
Around them the zealots fell to their knees or dropped their weapons. Vivian drove her blade through a throat.  
Nimueh grabbed Cenred’s corpse and pulled it up, “Your King is dead! You are not the chosen ones! Andal has forsaken you!”   
Together they turned away and fled.  
Andal was collapsing as it burned. Night had fallen.  
Nimueh kicked the corpse and Arthur felt his chest. He was bleeding from a small cut where the knife had pierced him, “Took your time, didn’t you Merlin?”  
Merlin rolled his eyes, “I came didn’t I?”  
Arthur groaned and sat up. His entire body felt like it had been run over by a car. He was bleeding.  
“Is everyone okay?” Vivian asked.  
“Peachy.” Nimueh said, “Just peachy.”  
Merlin unsteadily walked into the building and unpacked one of the backpacks.  
They’d all sustained some bad injuries. Vivian had a long slash in her torso, Nimueh had a knife sticking out of her hand. Merlin’s arm wound had opened up, the bullet graze he’d taken was leaking blood profusely, and he had a bad calf wound. They weren’t doing well, he could tell. But nobody was lying dead on the floor.   
They silently went about patching each other up. And as much as Arthur wished they could stay the night, “We need to move.”  
Vivian was bandaging a wound on leg, “Do we have to?”  
“No, he’s right.” Merlin said. He was sewing up Nimueh’s hand.  
Nimueh nodded, “They might come back.”  
Merlin put his foot down and winced, “I don’t know if I can travel.”  
“You’ll make it.” Arthur said. “You think I’d let you die after we went through all that?”  
They set off in the darkness, moving as silently as possible. Their rate was slow. Vivian was limping as well and Nimueh looked like she was sleepwalking.  
Arthur could feel exhaustion creeping into all his limbs. Merlin was leaning on him. Arthur was worried about him. He’d lost a lot of blood.   
He didn’t know how much farther they could travel.  
They lagged behind Vivian and Nimueh. They were holding hands and whispering to each other.  
“Feels good, doesn’t it?” Merlin mumbled.  
“What?”  
“Saving people.”  
Arthur gave a weak smile, “It does.”  
“I saw them when I was on my way to find my mother.”  
“You said.”  
“I could have saved them but I was too scared.”  
“That’s not your fault. There’s more bad then good running around out here.”  
He spied a run-down house up ahead, “We’ll stop there for the night.”  
They collapsed beside it.  
They had one can of tomato paste and one of spam, “When we went to grab the backpacks and resources they had some tomato spam soup and lentils laid out.” Nimueh explained.  
“We ate the lentils.” Vivian said, “But the soup seemed watery. We were scared it was mixed with Brandon bone broth.”  
Arthur was hungry. So hungry. But the women were half starved so after a bite of spam he let them have the rest.  
Merlin had some of the paste and washed it down with the water. “We’ll be at Camelot tomorrow.” He said, “It’ll be half a day's walk. Maybe a little more. But we’ll make it.”  
Nimueh took the first watch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has a little bit of 300 with some borderlands 3 and rdr2 mixed in for good measure.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We deserve a soft epilogue, my love.

It was mostly dark when Merlin woke but the light greyness that touched the sky indicated that the day was close. His calf throbbed and his arm hurt. Arthur was sitting a little ways away. He stood up and winced. He was not looking forward to today’s hike.  
The cannibals had left a guard by the pit after they’d taken Arthur. They hadn’t planned on that. But the man had spent the entire time staring at the fight. It had given them the time to tear pieces off their shirts, tie Vivian’s hair around them and throw them at the base of Andal.  
It had taken many tries and for a terrible minute, Merlin was scared it wouldn’t catch and Arthur would die. But Vivian’s hair truly must have had magical qualities because black smoke had begun spreading through the air.  
The guard had immediately gone to worship and Nimueh and Merlin had lifted Vivian up, who scrambled out quick as a mouse. She sent down a ladder and Merlin ran to go find Arthur while the women went to pack travel bags so they could run out unnoticed.  
It hadn’t worked out quite so neatly, but here they were, all alive.  
Merlin sat down beside Arthur, “Have you noticed that every time we work together something great happens?”  
“Have you noticed every time we fight we want to kill each other?”  
“I’m sorry for shoving you.”  
“I’m sorry for telling you to leave Camelot. And all the rest.”  
Merlin’s throat ached, “Do you think we’re too volatile to be a couple?”  
“I don’t know. Maybe.”  
“The sex was good though.”  
Arthur groaned, “Dear god, the sex was fantastic. Maybe that’s what we’ve been missing. The hate sex.”  
“That can be arranged.”  
“It’s a direct path back to a relationship.”  
“I’d like to give it another shot.”  
Arthur sucked in a breath, “The house we built has been abandoned for a while.”  
“But the foundation is still good.”  
“Are you still hell bent on being an adventurer?”  
“Are you still hell bent on me not being an adventurer?”  
“Hell yes. I mean, look at you Merlin. You’ve been stabbed twice, you have a gunshot wound, and a hundred other cuts you probably have that you’re just not telling me about.”  
Merlin rubbed his arm, “I know. And I’m not ignorant of the dangers out here, believe me. But you can’t deny that Camelot is low on supplies.”  
“We are.”  
“Medical, dental, clothes, fuel. The hospital I went to had a generator. Hell, they had three generators, all working. We could have electricity. And what if Gwen’s generator went kaput? What would Camelot do for food? What will Gaius do when there’s no gauze left, no antiseptic, no way to treat his patients?”  
Arthur sat for a moment, “You’re right. We do need to start scavenging for materials. And I think you’d be a brilliant lieutenant and fantastic at having your own crew and doing all those things. But we cannot date if you choose that path. I can’t wait back in Camelot for you every time you take your life into your own hands.”  
“You could come with me.”  
“My place is at Camelot. I need to be there to ensure everything is running smoothly. I’m sure Gwen is doing a marvelous job, but she adamantly doesn’t want it.”  
Merlin was silent for a moment, “What would we become if I did become a scavenger?”  
“Friends. You’d be my lieutenant.”  
“And if I didn’t, we could give it another chance?”  
“I’d be down if you are. But look, I don’t want you to feel like you’re giving something up for me. But I can’t date you if you’re going off into the wilderness every week. Not knowing where you are, what you’re doing. If you’re in trouble or lost. If you died, it would crush me and I need to protect myself from that.”  
Merlin fiddled with his fingers. He was right, Merlin knew, “If I don’t do it, you’re still going to make a scavenging crew?”  
“Yes. It’s a good idea. And we have a car now.” Arthur ran his fingers through his hair “Listen, I’m not forcing you to make a decision right now okay? Take your time. But I would like to know sooner rather than later.”  
“No.” Merlin said, “I know my answer.”

Lance squinted out. A group of four figures were limping toward them from the West. He got out the binoculars. He didn’t know the two women, but he saw Merlin and Arthur. Merlin was leaning against Arthur for support. He was limping. But as Lance watched, he kissed Arthur on the cheek. Arthur beamed.  
He got out the walkie-talkie, “Someone go get Hunith. She’ll be so happy.” He smiled. Gwen would be so relieved to go back to her plants.  
And to his troops he shouted, “The King has returned!”  
They took up the cry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for sticking around for so long. Hope you enjoyed.


End file.
